670 Sonics, Ol’Aces 2 ease past foes

The Ol’Aces 2’s Jay Junior Johnny steps on the breaks before unloading a shot against a Gen Cup defender during their boys U16 division game in the TanHoldings holiday caging yesterday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The 670 Sonics and Ol’Aces 2 coasted to victories in the boys U16 division of the 2016 TanHoldings Christmas Basketball Tournament yesterday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

The 670 Sonics prevailed in its debut game at the expense of Marianas High School, 69-59, while the Ol’Aces 2 also barged into the win column after a 97-43 crushing of GenCup.

The Ol’Aces 2, which had its victory over the 670 Thunder forfeited after fielding ineligible players in last Monday’s opener, proved it could still win by a big margin after showing a balance offense against Gen Cup. Five Ol’Aces 2 players broke into double figures with Rikko Lizama leading the way with his 17 points. Coby Santos added 16, while Jay Junior Johnny and Troy Ngirarois chipped 13 and 11, respectively. Traven Quitugua was the fifth Ol’Aces 2 player to score in twin digits with his 10 markers, while Javier Okaruru and Greg Deleon Guerrero combined for 15 points.

Every player the Ol’Aces 2 fielded in the game found their way to contribute to the team’s cause and by the end of the first half, the winning squad was already enjoying a 49-21 advantage. The Ol’Aces 2 was never threatened in the second half and even pulled away further to give Gen Cup a beating.

In the first game, the 670 Sonics also got off to a good start and never looked back to win its first game in the tournament.

The 670 Sonics led at the break, 42-29, thanks to the 22 first half points of Rafael Ordona. The 670 Sonics gunner scored 9 straight points early in the game and then nailed 8 of his team’s last 9 markers in the first 20 minutes of play for their double-digit advantage at the half.

Ordona was held to a point in the second half, but Khristian Itaas and Sean Apasan were there to pick up where he left off to hand the 670 Sonics the 10-point winning margin. Itaas finished with 14 markers, while Apasan tallied 12.

Jediael Maualo had 20 points to pace MHS.

Meanwhile, in the lone U25 division match last Monday, the Ol’Aces 2 topped Rollers 2, 54-38.

The Ol’Aces 2 built an early double-digit lead, 27-11, and kept going in the second half to win its debut. Jerald Castillo and Jeff Castro teamed up for the Ol’Aces 11, firing 14 and 10 points, respectively.

U16 DIVISION
First Game
670 Sonics 69 — Ordona 22, Itaas 14, Apasan 12, Cadag 7, Dionisio 4, Ejercito 6, Sabangan 2, Bayot 2.
MHS 59 — Maualo 20, Prado 17, Tenorio 11, Zhang 6, Abejo 3, Calayag 2.
Scoring by halves: 42-29, 69-59.

Second Game
Ol’Aces 2 97 — Lizama 17, Santos 16, Johnny 13, Ngirarois 11, Quitugua 10, Okaruru 9, Deleon Guerrero 6, Pangelinan 3, Ferrari 3.
Gen Cup 43 — Cruz 12, De Leon 10, Ibanez 9, Cai 6, Xu 4, Sacdalan 1, Cheng 1.
Scoring by halves: 49-21, 97-43.

U25
Ol’Aces 2 54 — Castillo 14, Castro 10, Siech 8, Ngirarois 6, Blake 5, Kabiriel 5, Paragados 4, Diyco 2.
Rollers 2 38— Tengco 10, Factor 8, John 7, Fidelino 7, Darag 4, Pangelinan 2.
Scoring by quarters: 27-11, 54-38.